HELLO and welcome to this week’s blog.
The colder mornings this week are a sign that we are moving towards winter and It’s hard to believe that we are in October already as time just seems to be flying.
It is a busy month for everyone with national and local COVID rates on the rise, the work around the staff survey and flu vaccination campaigns and the fact that it is also Freedom to Speak Up month.
Speak Up Month, led by the National Guardian’s Office (NGO), aims to increase NHS organisations’ commitment to fostering a strong speaking up culture and make Freedom to Speak Up (FTSU) guardians more visible.
Throughout October we will be sharing our own Alphabet of Speak Up – from Anonymity to Zero Tolerance, 26 days to explore the issues, the people, the values, the challenges – everything which goes into what FTSU means in health.
The Trust has also backed the month with the #SpeakUpToMe flag on display at Blackpool Victoria Hospital.
Freedom to Speak Up is a really important campaign that the Trust Board fully backs. It is vital that staff feel confident to raise any concerns they may have and feel supported throughout the process. We currently have a temporary cover arrangement in place for the Freedom to Speak up Guardian here. Jane Butcher, who is the Freedom to Speak up Guardian at our neighbouring Trust East Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, is currently covering for our colleague Terri Vaselli.
Therefore, if you have any concerns you wish to raise you can contact Jane on her mobile number 07909 116153, email jane.butcher@nhs.net, jane.butcher@elht.nhs.uk or use the generic Trust Freedom to Speak Up email at bfwh.ftsug@nhs.net.
Thanks for being an inFLUencer
THIS week you will have seen staff going out and about urging people to be inFLUencers and complete their staff survey or have their flu vaccination. Board members have been having their vaccinations this week and we have been urging all our managers to make sure their staff to complete their surveys because we are huge believers in the value of both.
More than 1,000 people have completed their staff surveys which is a great start to the campaign and a marked improvement on the same time last year. Congratulations to staff on Ward 34 who have won our weekly Survey Selfie competition. This week it’s a team brew break and the survey team will make a presentation on Monday. A big thanks to everyone who has taken part so far. In terms of flu we have vaccinated 16% of staff which is also a good start to the campaign which I am sure will continue to grow. Again a big thank you to everyone and please look out for all the forthcoming flu clinics and make sure you protect yourself, your patients, your colleagues and your own family against the flu.